1 Samuel 1 - 2, Hebrews 2, Proverbs 10

Elkanah and His Wives

1Now there was a certain man from ^aRamathaim-zophim from the ^bhill country of Ephraim, and his name was ^cElkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ²Now he had ^atwo wives: the name of one was ^bHannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³Now that man would go up from his city ^ayearly ^bto worship and to sacrifice to ¹Yahweh of hosts in ^cShiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to Yahweh there. ⁴And the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, and he ^awould give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; ⁵but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, ^abut Yahweh had closed her womb. ⁶Her rival, however, ^awould provoke her bitterly to irritate her because Yahweh had closed her womb. ⁷And so it would happen year after year, as often as she went up to the house of Yahweh, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. ⁸Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? ^aAm I not better to you than ten sons?”

⁹Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^athe temple of Yahweh. ¹⁰And she, bitter of soul, prayed to Yahweh and wept despondently. ¹¹And she ^amade a vow and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, if You will indeed ^blook on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a seed amongst men, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and ^ca razor shall never come on his head.”

¹²Now it happened, as she multiplied her praying before Yahweh, that Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³As for Hannah, ^ashe was speaking in her heart; only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴Then Eli said to her, “^aHow long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” ¹⁵But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman ¹oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I ^ahave poured out my soul before Yahweh. ¹⁶“Do not ¹consider your maidservant as a vile woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great complaint and ²provocation.” ¹⁷Then Eli answered and said, “^aGo in peace; and may the God of Israel ^bgrant your petition that you have asked of Him.” ¹⁸And she said, “^aLet your servant-woman find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and ^bher face was no longer sad.

The Birth of Samuel

¹⁹Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh and turned back and came to their house in ^aRamah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and ^bYahweh remembered her. ²⁰Now it happened ¹in due time that Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “^aBecause I have asked him of Yahweh.”

²¹Then the man Elkanah ^awent up with all his household to offer to Yahweh the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow. ²²But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the young boy is weaned; then I will ^abring him, that he may appear before Yahweh and ^bstay there forever.” ²³^aAnd Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what is good in your eyes. Remain until you have weaned him; only ^bmay Yahweh establish His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴Now when she had weaned him, ^ashe took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ¹ephah of flour and a jug of wine and brought him to ^bthe house of Yahweh in Shiloh, although the boy was young. ²⁵Then ^athey slaughtered the bull and ^bbrought the young boy to Eli. ²⁶And she said, “Oh, my lord! ^aAs your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to Yahweh. ²⁷“^aFor this young boy I prayed, and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of Him. ²⁸“^aSo I have also ¹dedicated him to Yahweh; as long as he lives, he is ²dedicated to Yahweh.” So ^bhe worshiped Yahweh there.

Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving

2Then Hannah ^aprayed and said, “My heart exults in Yahweh;^bMy ¹horn is exalted in Yahweh;My mouth ²speaks boldly against my enemies,Because ^cI am glad in Your salvation.

²“^aThere is no one holy like Yahweh;Indeed, ^bthere is no one besides You,^cNor is there any rock like our God.³“Do not multiply speaking so very proudly;^aLet arrogance not come out of your mouth;^bFor Yahweh is a God of knowledge,^cAnd with Him actions are weighed.⁴“^aThe bows of the mighty are shattered,^bBut those who stumble gird on strength.⁵“Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,But those who were hungry cease to hunger.^aEven the barren gives birth to seven,But ^bshe who has many children languishes.⁶“^aYahweh puts to death and makes alive;^bHe brings down to Sheol and raises up.⁷“^aYahweh makes poor and rich;^bHe brings low; He also exalts.⁸“^aHe raises the poor from the dust;^bHe exalts the needy from the ash heap^cTo make them sit with nobles,And inherit a seat of glory;^dFor the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s,And He set the world on them.⁹“^aHe keeps the feet of His holy ones,^bBut the wicked ones are silenced in darkness,^cFor not by power shall a man prevail.¹⁰“^aThose who contend with Yahweh will be dismayed;^bAgainst them He will thunder in the heavens;^cYahweh will render justice to the ends of the earth,^dAnd He will give strength to His king,^eAnd He will exalt the ¹horn of His anointed.”

¹¹Then Elkanah went to his home at ^aRamah. ^bBut the young boy ministered to Yahweh before Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

¹²Now the sons of Eli were ¹^,^avile men; they did not know Yahweh. ¹³^aAnd this was the legal judgment for the priests with the people: when any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s young man would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴Then he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot; all that the fork would bring up the priest would take for himself. Thus they would do in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵Also, before ^athey offered up the fat in smoke, the priest’s young man would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting; he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” ¹⁶Then the man would say to him, “They must surely offer up the fat in smoke ¹first, and then take as much as your soul desires,” then he would say, “No, you shall give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.” ¹⁷Thus the sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh, for the men ^aspurned the offering of Yahweh.

Samuel Before Yahweh as a Boy

¹⁸Now ^aSamuel was ministering before Yahweh, as a ¹young boy ^bgirded with a linen ephod. ¹⁹And his mother would make him a little ^arobe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer ^bthe yearly sacrifice. ²⁰Then Eli would ^abless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May Yahweh establish for you a seed from this woman in place of ¹the one she ^bdedicated to Yahweh.” And they went to their own ²home.

²¹^aYahweh indeed visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And ^bthe young boy Samuel grew before Yahweh.

Eli Hears About His Sons’ Evils

²²Now Eli was very old; and he heard ^aall that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with ^bthe women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ²³So he said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? ²⁴“No, my sons; for the report is not good ^awhich I hear the people of Yahweh ¹passing about. ²⁵“If one man sins against another, ^aGod will mediate for him; but ^bif a man sins against Yahweh, who can pray for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for ^cYahweh desired to put them to death.

²⁶Now the young boy ^aSamuel ¹was growing in stature and in favor both with Yahweh and with men.

Eli Honors His Sons Above Yahweh

²⁷Then ^aa man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘^bDid I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, enslaved to Pharaoh’s house? ²⁸‘^aAnd did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not ^bgive to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? ²⁹‘Why do you ^akick at My sacrifice and at My offering ^bwhich I have commanded in My ^chabitation, and ^dhonor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ¹choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ ³⁰“Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, declares, ‘^aI did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now Yahweh declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for ^bthose who honor Me I will honor, and those ^cwho despise Me will be cursed. ³¹‘Behold, ^athe days are coming, and I will break your ¹strength and the ²strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³²‘And you will look upon ^athe distress of My habitation, in spite of all the good that ¹I do for Israel; and an ^bold man will not be in your house all the days. ³³‘Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar ¹so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will be put to death ²in the prime of life. ³⁴‘Now this will be ^athe sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: ^bon the same day both of them will be put to death. ³⁵‘But ^aI will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and ^bI will build him a faithful house, and he will walk before ^cMy anointed always. ³⁶‘And it will be that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a ¹piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please ²assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation

2For this reason we must pay much closer attention to ¹what we have heard, lest ^awe drift away. ²For if the word ^aspoken through ^bangels proved ¹unalterable, and ^cevery trespass and disobedience received a just ²^,^dpenalty, ³^ahow will we escape if we neglect so great a ^bsalvation? That salvation, first ^cspoken by the Lord, was ^dconfirmed to us by those who heard, ⁴God also testifying with them, both by ^asigns and wonders and by ^bvarious ¹miracles and by ²^,^cgifts of the Holy Spirit ^daccording to His own will.

Jesus, the Author of Salvation

⁵For He did not subject to angels ¹^,^athe world to come, concerning which we are speaking. ⁶But one has testified ^asomewhere, saying, “^bWhat is man, that You remember him?Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him?

⁷“^aYou have made ¹him for a little while lower than the angels;You have crowned him with glory and honor,²And have appointed him over the works of Your hands;⁸^aYou have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now ^bwe do not yet see all things subjected to him.

⁹But we do see Him who was ^amade ¹for a little while lower than the angels—Jesus, ^bbecause of the suffering of death ^ccrowned with glory and honor, so that ^dby the grace of God He might ^etaste death ^ffor everyone.

¹⁰For ^ait was fitting for Him, ^bfor whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to ^cperfect the ¹^,^dauthor of their salvation through sufferings. ¹¹For both He who ^asanctifies and those who ^bare being sanctified are all ^cof One; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them ^dbrothers, ¹²saying, “^aI will recount Your name to My brothers,In the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise.”

¹³And again, “^aI will put My trust in Him.” And again,“^bBehold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”

¹⁴Therefore, since the children share in ¹^,^aflesh and blood, ^bHe Himself likewise also partook of the same, that ^cthrough death He might render powerless ^dhim who had the ²power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and might free those who through ^afear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. ¹⁶For assuredly He does not ¹give help to angels, but He gives help to the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷Therefore, He ¹had ^ato be made like His brothers in all things, so that He might ^bbecome a merciful and faithful ^chigh priest in ^dthings pertaining to God, to ^emake propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For since He Himself was ^atempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to help those who are tempted.

Contrast of the Righteous and the Wicked

10The ^aproverbs of Solomon. ^bA wise son makes a father glad,But ^ca foolish son is a grief to his mother.

²^aTreasures gained by wickedness do not profit,But righteousness delivers from death.³Yahweh ^awill not allow the soul of the righteous to hunger,But He ^bwill push away the craving of the wicked.⁴Poor is he who works with a slack ¹hand,But the ^ahand of the diligent makes rich.⁵He who gathers in summer is a son who acts insightfully,But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.⁶^aBlessings are on the head of the righteous,But ^bthe mouth of the wicked covers up violence.⁷The ^aremembrance of the righteous is blessed,But ^bthe name of the wicked will rot.⁸The ^awise of heart will receive commandments,But an ignorant fool of loose lips will be ¹ruined.⁹He ^awho walks in integrity walks securely,But ^bhe who makes his ways crooked will be found out.¹⁰He ^awho winks the eye causes pain,And ^ban ignorant fool of loose lips will be ¹ruined.¹¹The ^amouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,But ^bthe mouth of the wicked covers up violence.¹²Hatred stirs up strife,But ^alove covers all transgressions.¹³On ^athe lips of the one who has understanding, wisdom is found,But ^ba rod is for the back of him who lacks a heart of wisdom.¹⁴Wise men ^astore up knowledge,But ^bthe mouth of the ignorant fool draws ruin near.¹⁵The ^arich man’s wealth is his strong city,The ^bruin of the poor is their poverty.¹⁶The ¹^,^awages of the righteous is life,The income of the wicked, punishment.¹⁷He ^ais on the path of life who keeps discipline,But he who forsakes reproof makes ¹himself wander about.¹⁸He ^awho covers up hatred has lying lips,And he who spreads a bad report is a fool.¹⁹When there are ^amany words, transgression is unavoidable,But ^bhe who holds back his lips has insight.²⁰The tongue of the righteous is as ^achoice silver,The heart of the wicked is worth little.²¹The ^alips of the righteous feed many,But ignorant fools ^bdie for lack of a heart of wisdom.²²It is the ^ablessing of Yahweh that makes rich,And He adds no pain with it.²³Doing wickedness is like ^alaughing to a fool,And so is wisdom to a man of discernment.²⁴What ^athe wicked dreads will come upon him,But the ^bdesire of the righteous will be granted.²⁵When the ^awhirlwind passes, the wicked is no more,But the ^brighteous has an everlasting foundation.²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and like smoke to the eyes,So is the ^asluggard to those who send him.²⁷The ^afear of Yahweh prolongs ¹life,But the ^byears of the wicked will be shortened.²⁸The ^aexpectation of the righteous is gladness,But the ^bhope of the wicked will perish.²⁹The ^away of Yahweh is a stronghold to the one with integrity,But ^bruin to the workers of iniquity.³⁰The ^arighteous will never be shaken,But ^bthe wicked will not dwell in the land.³¹The ^amouth of the righteous bears wisdom,But the tongue of ^bperversions will be cut out.³²The lips of the righteous know ^awhat is acceptable,But the ^bmouth of the wicked ¹what is perverse.